Hokkaido day 2

Day two of Hokkaido--Plodding through the white streets on another crisp and cold Sapporo morning, Cyrus and I took in the sites near the hostel and snapped some shots of snow-covered temples. White, white everywhere...Somehow it felt refreshing to see a blanket of white lay softly over the town.

 We took the train to Sapporo station. Destination--Sapporo Beer Garden/Museum. Looking at a local map, things looked like they were within walking distance.

Perhaps we underestimated our map-reading skills. Treading over the occasionally slippery and icy sidewalks and shuffling through mounds of snow slowed our walking pace down. After a while, we found ourselves beholding a lovely sight of the old Hokkaido government building--Akarenga.

Walking through some fancy gates, we made our way through a long stretch of pure white snow. The European style architecture, high mounds of snow lining the path to the entrance, and the contrast between the white and dark red brick felt somewhat like walking into a fairy-tale. 

Dark red carpet, high ceilings, dark brown wood floors and wooden staircases gave it a homey feel. I definitely sensed the history behind this building. We took a quick look around the rooms that explained the history of Sapporo and the building.

downstairs hallway

After our brief visit to the Akarenga, we braved the cold again and slowly made our way toward the Beer Factory.

We started seeing more burgundy brick buildings and was excited to realize we had finally arrived at the Sapporo Beer Factory.

The brown wood floors and red brick walls gave off a very cozy feel. We popped in some of the little shops and found some cool candies, treats, and souvenirs. 

The place was also connected to a huge mall, but our empty stomachs led us to our search for the famous Genghis Khan restaurant.

To our dismay, Genghis Khan was located at the Sapporo Beer MUSEUM, not the factory..! Asking some random passerbyers, we found out it would be quite a walk from our current location. So we took a taxi there.

I struck up conversation with the taxi driver, asking if he had ever eaten at Genghis Khan. Of course he had, being a Sapporo resident.
He explained how it's all-you-can-eat and drink. Great! I exclaimed.
"Girls can't eat as much though. If it were just two guys going to eat, it'd be okay since they can keep eating," he said and chuckled.

A rebellious part of me found that comment somewhat sexist. "Ha! Girls can't eat a lot?! I'll show you!!" I thought.
I was determined to stuff my face and prove him wrong.

When we arrived at the Beer Museum, the taxi driver pointed us to the direction of the reception building. I found myself gasping in wonder at beer flavored chocolates and caramels, beer crackers, and other beer-related products. Beer AND chocolate?! My love for both and the fact that they were being combined blew my mind.

Cyrus tore me away from the beer products. Still in a frenzy over beer chocolate, I went to the Genghis Khan restaurant in another nearby building. We got the all-you-can-eat option and ordered the beer separately. Aww yeah, drinking Sapporo beer in Sapporo. Another check off the bucket list. The draft beer was crisp and easy to drink.

We had to eat enough to make it worth the money, so we kept ordering more plates of lamb. It was similar to Korean BBQ in that we cooked the sliced lamb, pork, and vegetables by ourselves on a hot plate. The spacious beer hall, high ceilings, warm brown wooden floors, smoky burgundy brick walls created a very comfortable and homey atmosphere.

I proved the taxi driver wrong by eating enough to break even, but I could hardly breath or move afterwards. It hurt so much to be a fatty. Maybe the taxi driver won in a sense.

We unfortunately couldn't make it to the museum, as it was closed by the time we finished eating. The outside area was still breathtakingly beautiful. The Christmas lights and brick buildings covered with vines and snow created a magical feel. It was like walking into another wintry fairy-tale.

 
Thank you Cyrus for being my model :)

cool beer barrels

We ended the night walking around Susukino district again. The main streets were teeming with life as usual, but Odori Park was fairly quiet. The illumination there wasn't as impressive as we had expected. 

The next day, we packed and left for the airport. The airport was full of shops that sold the famous Shiroi Koibito products, many different types of chocolates, soft and rich cheesecakes that melt in your mouth, thick and creamy ice cream, and many other popular milk-related products. Not to mention all the free samples from almost every store..! It was like Costco, but more awesome and all dairy products. What amazing food do they feed the cows in Hokkaido? And here I thought California raised happy cows.  Dairy products here are mind-blowing.

As much as I enjoyed the snow, the delicious food and cozy brick buildings, I was ready to move on to my beloved Kansai. Sapporo definitely had character!

Winter Hokkaido Trip Day 1

 

After a sleepless night at Narita Airport on Christmas Eve, Cyrus and I spent a very white Christmas in Sapporo, Hokkaido. With a layer of heat tech, sweater, down jacket, ski pants and snow boots, I was prepared for the notorious Hokkaido cold.

  

We stayed at the hostel Marks Inn, which was only a few minutes walk away from JR Nakajima Koen station. Everything was blanketed in soft, white snow.

 

 

Pretty pigeon

We went to the Shiroi Koibito chocolate factory about half an hour away from our station. The dark brown and red bricks contrasted beautifully with the powder white snow.

 

 mountains in the distance

 

The architecture was very European. The designs inside and outside the factory were fancy and intricate.

 

Snowmen all over the balconies 

 

The outside of the factory was heavily decorated and covered with snow. Lots of bright, playfully colored ornaments and mini houses.

 

house for mini people?

 
Random pretty bubbles

 The first room we entered after the admission area had this ornate Indian-looking fountain.

 There were collections of different types of chocolate boxes, hot chocolate mugs/cups, and posters from the past. It's amazing how elaborate some of the things were.

 fancy chocolate box

 There was an area about how chocolate is made and the origin of cocoa beans.

 One floor was the cafe area, which we didn't get a chance to enter because of the long waiting list. The cakes were petite and beautifully decorated.

 We ate two pieces of cake, ice cream, and drank some of the cold chocolate milk we bought on the first floor. The ice cream and chocolate milk were so thick and creamy.

More pictures from outside again:

 At night, we went to Susukino, the lively nightlife area. The streets were wide and buildings towered over us. It reminded me a bit of New York City.

 

We found Ramen Yokocho (Ramen Alley) and went into a random ramen house. The place was very small and there was only one cook. 

  

I thought there would be bear meat since it was called "higuma ramen," but maybe it was just the name. I had the butter corn ramen (very delicious and flavorful).